Photos by Chris Meyer A student strolls by the IU Art Museum in Bloomington, near the sculpture entitled The Indiana Arc, by Charles Perry

Jenny McComas, curator of Western art after 1800, looks over an aisle of stored paintings at the IU Art Museum.

IU Art Museum docent Richard Burke (center) points out highlights of the museum to FIGs peer instructors.

An uncommon scenario, perhaps; but one that happened just a few months ago in a strategic daytime theft of Edvard Munch’s The Scream from a Norwegian museum.

“It was shocking because of the nature of the painting. It was surprising to us,” said David Tanner, associate director for administration at the IU Art Museum, adding that thieves typically choose to strike when a piece is in transit. “Anytime you have artwork being moved or on loan, there’s extra security involved because it is a prime time for something to happen. That’s when you run the biggest risk of having a theft.”

Tanner, who joined the museum staff a year ago, admits big-time art heists snag headlines, but the rather mundane work that goes into safeguarding a museum collection is the everyday framework keeping art—and guests—secure.

“We definitely have to keep secrets,” said Tanner, referring to techniques employed by the 20 members of the museum’s security staff, led by security manager Debbie Scholl. “There’s a lot that’s not public knowledge…we have guards and security cameras that keep tabs on public areas as well as storage areas.”

As far as electronic surveillance, Tanner concedes that cameras guard against theft as well as protecting guests. “If a guest falls, for instance, we can go back and see what exactly happened. Was there a spill or shoelaces untied that caused the accident?”

Tanner said the museum staff’s central focus is to ensure safety of guests. “Most of the tasks are mundane. Like making sure schoolchildren don’t run.” What isn’t seen by museum guests are electronic devices, heavily bolted art and undercover security gadgets. “There’s always a new gadget to consider,” said Tanner. “We have different security measures for each display, on top of longer, more serious security measures for the overall collection.”

The museum team has been trained to deal with disasters, ranging from tornadoes to chemical spills. “Most people probably don’t realize that museum security isn’t here to only protect art. I would say across the board, at every museum, the safety of art and safety of visitors and staff are equal concerns.”

In terms of a disaster plan, Tanner said procedures are in place to recover art from the museum. “We know where the most important pieces are and how to deal with works that are on loan. People, obviously, are our first concern, then retrieving art,” he said

Perhaps one of the most unpredictable security issues is dealing with guests that want to make their own artistic statements. “A big worry is vandalism over a controversial artist,” said Tanner, referring to infamous installations by edgy photographers such as Andres Serrano or Robert Mapplethorpe. “From a security standpoint, you get people that may protest…that don’t like the work and then decide to go to the next level and destroy it.”

Those are the situations Tanner likes to head off by educating the public as to why the artist’s work is important. “That way, they aren’t blindsided and think that the exhibit is just a bunch of ‘dirty pictures’ on the wall. We try to present an unbiased message in those cases. Another example is with images of war; we’ll try to refrain from talking about whether it is good or bad; instead, provide the background from all sides of the issue.”

Aside from the rare vandal, damage is often unintentional. Tanner said the museum’s art is accessible, and that can lead to guests getting too close, pointing with a brochure or touching a painting with their fingers. “Any time artwork is touched, we call down a conservator to see if there’s any damage,” said Tanner. “Putting your hand on a 600-year-old wooden statue is not the best thing to do.”

Read about IU Art Museum art conservator Margaret Contompasis at this HP archival site:

http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/081503/text/work.html